end of sketchbook, come see my new one under the username AlexC

hey there!
Firstly, I would like to thank all those who bothered to post in my old thread, however its time to shred the old, and begin anew.
My name is Alexander Carletti, and im 14 years old!(now 15),
and have been drawing for roughly 6 months.
Having been inspired in the first place, by the amazing mindcandyman, and starting the arduous task of drawing everyday.
I started a new sb, because i was embarrassed by my early stuff in my last sb.
Eh, beginnings are always ugly, i cant wait to scorn at this filth! my old sketchbook
the following work varies from the last couple of days, to around a fortnight
GET TO THE LAST PAGE!!
NOTE, i HAVE ONE OF THOSE CRAZY LDC SCREENS THAT READS COLOUR DIFFERENTLY TO YOUR MONITER, ON SOME SCREENS IT CAN LOOK REALLY HORRIBLE, PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN VIEWING ANY DIGITAL WORK.

ago. From mirror, less than an hour!

another sp from mirror, less than an hour

steps
finally finished
tell me what you think!

I have a long way to go, and any helpful critique is definately welcome.=, and i will return the favour to your sb!

Pretty good, your shading ability is very good for your age, not trying to discriminate of course, but I like it. Keep posting, i wouldn't be surprised if you turned out to be a real good artist someday

It's great to have a fresh new start I've already changed the link in my sig.
Now, let's see something NEW!
Btw, you shouldn't be embarrased of your older stuff, you should be happy (and proud) about making such an improvement in a short time.
Keep it up!
entdroid

You've got a lovely grasp of how to shade with a pencil effectively. The best examples are the skulls and the last portrait.

With the digital painting, try painting as if you are slowly focusing the lens of a camera. Bring all the details into focus together, instead of focusing in on one part at a time.

I think you are awesome, and I wish you the best in your endeavors, but I am tired of repeating myself, I am very busy with my new baby, and I am no longer a regular participant here, so please do not contact me to ask for advice on your career or education. All of the advice that I have to offer can already be found in the following links. Thank you.

hiya I have not much more to add, but well.. I'll just post a useless post then ^^
I really like your graphite shading technique, I always try that and fail again
I think the thing to work on most is proportions and colours
And most of all; everything! Just study as hard as you can and want, and we'll see much more progress than you already made (and your progress has already been huge)

werd, an update!

thanks for ALL the replies, getting over the first hump is aalways weird.
Ok, today I went to my local art store and bought some cool stuffs!
I bought a tiny sb, to fit in my pocket, and a kickass Japanese brush pen.
Its not the type that mgs concept art dude uses(they cost about 20-30 bucks without ink, sheesh)
But its good for varying line width, i love it already, and on the other side is a small flat bit so you can get a varying line, and a nice steady one, it totally rocks so hard.
Just some spoot-
observational, wip, from life, anatomy, doodles, ref work OH MY(in no order)
Oldnoobie-thanks
thevoid-thanks mate!
entdroid, here ya go, new stuffs, and thanks for changing your sig!
seedling-thanks, i thought i was doing that? Any good examples i should see?
meatsworthy-good idea, huge brush is the way to go
noe- thanks a lot! Yeah ive made a lot of progress, expect a ton more, Im not gonna stop, stop, stop...

It's cool to see you draw this mutch. it's just a superb that you are so dedicated to create some art.

you are realy practising a lot, and that pay's off! look you improvement.
Just 'keep' drawing as much as you can. .

it's a never ending development, and it keeps intressting. so much to learn and to do... just focus on study's and live drawings now. you are still young. and thats the basic!. if you know the basic's well you can draw almost anything you want!. if you getting older you know all the basic's and you can draw anything. you can focus more on the technique's.

I am a bit older, but i have to learn the basics to.. by studyŪng and drawing from life.

Really enjoying the self portraits - though I personally prefer the pencil work to the digital, it's all good.

About to start doing some myself in oils, any tips on colour, etc, would be appreciated.
What sort of things do you aim for in a painting, whats the difference between a good and bad one?
good stuff!

You know, I picked up this book http://www.amazon.com/Alla-Prima-Eve...e=UTF8&s=books
(though I didn't order it from Amazon) about a year ago and it has become my bible. If you are even remotley interested in fine art, I'd highly suggest picking it up. It is, by far, the number one book in my library and is referenced constantly. Schmid has a very personal approach to writing and is dead on in all of his observation, and entertaining in an elegant way. Not to mention he's a terrific and beautiful painter. *Everything* you need to know is in this book and can answer your questions far better than I ever could.

The first image is not new, and you posted it twice! Don't you trick me!
Faces and bodies in pencil: you should really try to get your features well placed and your proportions right before rendering stuff so tightly, sometimes you seem to focus too much on details instead of working first on the bigger shapes.
I like the markers stuff, looking good. I think these exercises are great to help you loosen up those lines and getting construction right.
Keep up the hard work and dedication!
Cheers,
entdroid

I like the marker sketches too. Some of the hatched ones look so good that I think you should try hatching with markers on more finished work. As someone said in your first sketchbook, you could brush up your contrasts and one would think that's easier to get right with ink. Keep working on figures and think critically about the proportions.

hey man thanks for stopping by! hmmm if I had one suggestion. . .I think it would be to echo oregono - I'm pretty much learning everything out of that schmid book right now; I can't even tell you how awesome it is. so, on that note, I'll rip something right out of it: first of all, *excellent* studies, I really think you're heading in exactly the right direction. But something that I see in most of your studies is kind of an 'outline' around the facial features. . .in most cases there is no distinct line around, say, the eyes - try to see the actual 'softness' of all the edges in your subject. . .most of the lines inside a face are going to be much softer in general but above all else you must observe!

Good luck man, hope this helps - like I said, you're definately doing the right stuff.

Hey dude. Didn't see you made a new SB. Great work with the SPs. Consistancy is the key. The values are getting way better.So are your figures. Pretty much everything has improved since your last SB!
Anatomy is getting better too bro.

Awesome, lots of replies to sink my teeth into!
Oma, thanks mate, i feel ive got the basics down pat in terms of proportions, forms and rendering, but of course, there is better.
Oregano! Thanks for the reply- yeah personally I prefer the pencils myself as well. Had a look at that book, and im willing to hunt around for it. I am serious about fine art, as The lessons you learn in colour theory cannot be matched.
Learning oils is a huge challenge, and Its not something you get perfectly right at first. Right now im mainly struggling with mixing the right colours.
Anyway, thanks for the awesome reply mate!
Entdroid- haha, just testing your observational skills. Well, maybe not, maybe im just a little stupid(ive removed it btw)
Yeah, its a bad habit that i dont always draw the entire thing before i render, and im trying to phase it out.
Smuli, thanks, you reckon the hatched marker stuff is good? I will do more then.
Jkior- thanks man, makes me feel good that im doing the right thing- and doubling oreganos post, i gotta get this book!
Jake, thanks, im noticing improvement in my anatomy, its paying off i say!
Spade-grrrrr, thats my best(lame) monster sound. Thanks mate, means alot to me!
Magic Man- If im working at 1500x1500, is 70 brush size big enough perhaps?
thanks mate.
Ok, today i worked more on the oils and some studies.
Im kinda in a love hate relationship with them. When i cant get the colour, get frustrated and angry but when i get it near enough its a joyous feeling.
Been studying Michelangelo, was just walking pass the book shelf and noticed 2 huge books, with giant photos of his works. WHat an amazing artist, his figures are beyond extraordinary, a feat every artist wants to accomplish to a certain level.
painting still wery wip, and rough, havent worked much on eyes, and mouth

ok, not much of an update.
Went to a youth artshow today. All i can say is that i wished i entered
A 13 yr old kid won a 250 dollar prize worth of art lessons(painting and lifedrawing type of things) at the local atelier sponsering it. I know i sound like a bitch, but believe me, it was total and utter shit. Not because my sister produced better work at 4 years old, but because he displayed no skills at all and the prize is wasted on him, when more serious artists could use it to improve.>end bitch
Thanks Neireth-
todays crap- pen thumbs, aiming for quick stuff, 3rd one shows!- and Bammes anatomy which i downloaded in pfd!LOL(its in russian)(removed cos its boring)

The Michelangelo studies are really nice. It would be good if you tried to finish the face and feet as well, it seems like you avoided doing them.
Those little thumbnails are cool! Watch some of your lines, some stuff appears to be a bit skewed.
Keep it up, you're progressing lots!
Cheers,
entdroid

Hey everybody has to start somewhere, if the kid had no skills then it is a good thing he won and now has some lessons to deveolp them. Why must you already be a serious artist in order to improve?

I just love your latest marker drawings, very nice to look at. you're showing lots of improvement, not to mention productivity. When you crosshatch try to follow the form more (with curved lines not just straight lines) so it not only helps decribe the values but the shape and form aswell.

the Michelangelo portrait really looks wonderful. The reservation of the bright whites around the eyes really impressed me. It's great to see you working with oils -- they're fantastic and infuriating. Be sure to try out an alkyd to mix in with your paints. They'll speed up the drying time to a few days -- m graham makes a walnut alkyd that is non-toxic and completely recommended.

Nice updates! For those gestures, I found mentler's egg + cube approach really helps get some really dynamic looking poses... check his thread out

As for the question to Magic Man on brush size, I thought I'd offer an answer . Working at 2048 res, I can go as huge as 400px. 200-300 seems to be about the norm for laying midtones in the block stage. By 'huge' I meant really huge!

Nice updates! For those gestures, I found mentler's egg + cube approach really helps get some really dynamic looking poses... check his thread out

As for the question to Magic Man on brush size, I thought I'd offer an answer . Working at 2048 res, I can go as huge as 400px. 200-300 seems to be about the norm for laying midtones in the block stage. By 'huge' I meant really huge!

Agreed with my esteemed colleague here. But really, the question is kinda moot - its like saying "how long is a piece of string" or "if I walk how far will I go?", lots of factors.

Just use as large as you need to spread as much tone as possible in one swipe, this is to efficiently use time, just as you wouldn't use a driver to putt on the golf course, you wouldn't use a 10px brush to colour in a 1024x1024 canvas.

Wooooowwww, insane progress since I last saw your stuff a few months ago...great style and technique, your doing a superb job. Only crit is that the legs are lookin' a little stumpy, but overall, man, sweeeeeet stuff.

big~update, suck your teeth into it and give me advice

sup all, wow, thanks for all the comments, appreciate it-
dile, thanks man, I SHOULD of entered, but the judging wasnt too good, they were looking for "originality" if you catch my drift!
entdroid- thanks, i am ignoring it, Im gonna do some hand and feet studies to make up for my ignorance.
octopus interphone-
cheers, honestly, if you saw it, you wouldnt agree that this guy had won.
I just cant see how this guy can go to a professional atelier with a bunch of professionals, or would be pros, and do anything. thanks for the comment nevertheless.
craig-
thanks man, im working with turps as my base. Gonna work this weekend and do a hell of work on it. Oils are the most fantastic and crazy thing, I think it will take a lot of practice before i do anything good, but ive still got a long way before me...

meatsworthy- THANKS a lot for the answer, I get what your saying. Thats the advantage over pencil, you can apply colour largely, while pencil your restricted to line,- will check out mentlers stuff soon- oh, and what thread is that, he has a few sbs?
Magic Man-
good point, Large is considered by subject matter, shape and a lot of factors, thanks for filling the void in my brain where digital should be!
demented-
thanks man, will do some bridgeman on planes!
goog-cheers man
yes, I Have also noticed that, but im working on it, its just a slight proportional problem.
johnny badass
-inserts choips into dudes arms like smack, arms enlarge, cya sam!

Ok, this is what i posted in the back to basics thread in the critique centre-
HEY, i was gonna bump back this thread, looks like someone beat me to it!
Anyway, take my words with a grain of salt, im definately not a pro but i do have something to say!
35:
1st tip- enter lots of art competitions either online, or in your neighbourhood, its good having it on a resume etc, and the prizes may help financial issues
2:Repetition is the key to anatomy. Dont expect to draw a figure once and be able to do it again perfectly. It takes a few tries to understand, and more to remember.
3: DO selfportraits. Its a valuable exercise and it beats ref stuff by a mile. Use a mirror and not a photo. Mix up some long ones with some quick ones.
4:Before you draw, learn to draw! Lots of apriring artists start from their head and miss out on the fundamentals doing so. WHat I mean is start by doing simple exercises like from ref, life etc. Learn how to get proportions spot on everytime, make rendering your strong point. Back this up with anatomy studies!
5:ALWAYS carry a sketchbook with you( You can buy miniature sbs that are big enough to squeeze into your pocket, but are big enough to draw in.
You never know when inspiration will hit you, most often or not your not prepared, and cant get the idea down quick enough, so you lose it. It is also a good idea to carry a camera, even if its just attached to your phone.
6:Experiment in different mediums: You can learn a lot from a lot of traditional methods that will help you in the long run. And you might find that one area isnt your strong point, but another is.
7: When you think your done, or are nearly finished, leave it for a while, perhas overnight and look at it again in the morning. Most often or not, youll notice a plethora of mistakes. Its also valuable to get someone elses opinion, because after staring at it for an extended period, you dont notice the subtle mistakes.
8: Suck up as many tutorials as you can. Whether it be from magazines, the internet, books, dvds. You can learn a lot of new techniques and styles in doing so, and youll learn about new tools/features of programs that you havent used before.
Last but not least- enjoy yourself, If you land a good job, you never have to work a day in your life!

some crap- well, all crap, quantity over quality
oh, and today marks exactly 2 months till I hit 15! There is so much stuff i want, but i think the massive black dvds are on the top, and perspective for the comic book artist!